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View SlideshowRequest to buy this photoDavid Goldman Associated PressFalcons kicker Matt Bryant kicked a 49-yard field goal with eight seconds left to cap a wild victory in the NFC divisional playoff game.

ATLANTA — Matt Bryant pumped his fist and celebrated atop the Falcons logo in the middle of the field. Tony Gonzalez broke down in tears. Matt Ryan relished the thought of not having to answer a familiar question.

The Atlanta Falcons finally showed they could win a playoff game.

And what a game it was.

After a historic meltdown in the fourth quarter, the Falcons pulled off a comeback that will long be remembered in championship-starved Atlanta. Ryan completed two long passes and Bryant kicked a 49-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining, lifting the NFC’s top seed to a stunning 30-28 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in a divisional game yesterday.

“Wow!” said Falcons coach Mike Smith, summing up the classic game.

Atlanta squandered a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, falling behind for the first time when Marshawn Lynch scored on a 2-yard run with 31 seconds left for a 28-27 lead.

But Ryan, shaking off his struggles in three previous playoff losses and two interceptions against the Seahawks, hooked up with Harry Douglas on a 29-yard pass. Then, Ryan went down the middle to Gonzalez, a Hall of Famer-to-be playing what could’ve been his final game.

Gonzalez’s catch was good for 19 yards, and the Falcons called their final timeout with 13 seconds remaining. Instead of risking another play and having the clock run out, Smith sent Bryant in for the field-goal attempt.

The Seahawks called time just before the ball was snapped, and Bryant’s kick sailed right of the upright. The next one was right down the middle as Bryant took off in the other direction, pumping his fist before he was mobbed by his teammates.

“Our quarterback is a special player,” Smith said. “They call him Matty Ice, but I feel like we’ve got two Matty Ices. There’s Matty Ice Ryan and Matty Ice Bryant.”

Atlanta, winning its first postseason game since 2004, will play host to San Francisco in the NFC championship game next Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

“Nobody flinched,” Ryan said. “We just kept battling, kept doing what we do. That’s been the makeup of our team all season.”

Bryant said, “When they scored their touchdown, I walked down (the sideline). I told the offensive line, I told Matt (Ryan), I told all the receivers, ‘We’ve done this before.’ ”

Rookie Russell Wilson threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, doing all he could to pull off the most improbable of comebacks for the Seahawks. But the Seattle defense, which is one of the NFL’s best and had stymied Atlanta in the fourth quarter, went to a softer coverage and got burned.

Wilson finished with 385 yards passing as the Seahawks wiped out a 27-7 deficit entering the final quarter. When Lynch powered over, the ball breaking the goal line just before it squirted from his arms, Seattle celebrated like it had won its second straight playoff game on the road.

But Ryan led the Falcons back.

“The one thing I’ve learned during my five years in the league, and specifically in the postseason, is that it’s hard,” Ryan said.

Now, he’ll no longer be asked why he can’t win in the playoffs.

“That’s going to be nice,” Ryan conceded. “But our goal is not to win one playoff game. Our goals are still in front of us. We still have two more games to go. That’s the mindset I have. That’s the mindset this team has.”